buying power on a budget???

Hey, first time poster, but hoping to stick around for a while, that is, after i finaly buy a lappy, right now i am still in P3 (866mhz) desktop world. I am on a budget, how much? the smaller the better but my absolute limit is $1200, keeping it under $1000 would be quite awesome. I've been looking around alot. My first choice was a Dell Inspiron 1100 (now the 1150) on a good sale you can grab a 2.4 cel, 14.1", 256mb ram, 40gig, cd-rw/dvd hd for $699 +tax and free shipping. I trust dell, i have 2 desktops (Dimention L866r and XPS s233x) and have had no problems, never had to even call the customer service. But, Celeron and a built in Intel graphics chip with 32mb shared memory was a major turnoff. I guess that what you get when you go for value. but the battery life is great, at the cost of a huge battery making it weigh 8 lbs. Well...some research later (especialy in the processor field) i thought maybe an AMD powered system will be worth it. problem is, aside from eMachines and Compaqs they are hard to find. I dont trust compaq becuase a few years ago they were crap, are they any better (quality wise...i am planning to keep it for 3 or 4 years) after the HP take over? The Barton (sp?) Athlon XP 3000+ looks juicy and capable, and over a $100 less than a P4 2.8ghz thats a good deal, right? So here is my question....Celeron or Athlon, any specific models i should check out, any specific stores? I know once in a while at best buy you can grab $1000 machine for $600 with many many mail-in rebates.

some notes on what i am looking for:
mobility is not important...but as long as i dont break my back
screen..14.1 or 15 incher is good (no need for wide)
cd-rw is a must, cd-rw/dvd is better
256mb ram is ok, can always stick more later
storage: 30gb is minimal. 40 is better, not a rush for 60
video: built in intel sucks, lets try for an ATI Radeon with 32mb, maybe 64 is better, 128 is great but not important
just a solid lappy i can keep for about 4 years.

refurbs! and by mobility i mean that i am gonna be on the wire most of the time so the bat life of 2 hours is fine, weight wise, it has to be less than 8lbs...naturaly.+

can i rephrase a few of my questions. first my budget...$1000 area. at most, i can try to push for $1200 range.

screen: 14 of 15 incher
vid card: anything as long as not shared and doesnt have to be 128 or 256
ram: 256 is a starting point, i guess i can stick more later in the game.
storage: 30 gigs is reasonable. a 40 or higher is nice but not necessary
battery: it will be on the leash more than mobile, 2 hours i can live with
weight: just make sure its not a brick
optical drive: CD-RW is a must. CD-RW/DVD combo is better :-)
floppy: can go without
USB Ports: 1.1 is fine, but 2.0 will keep me in line for the future
Most importantly, QUALITY. I want it so it will last me 3-4 years without any major issues.
OS Preinstall: I don't care much for OS. If it comes with XP, chances are I will wipe the drive clean and put up Win2K SP4. If you can find one with a clean drive (thus save me $200 and free me from the demon we call Bill Gates) that would be awesome.

hope this is more clear and detailed than my other post.

i do want mobility. but not extreme mobility. i dont need a thin and light lappy. i dont have broadband at home, so my original purpose for it is going to WiFi hotspots. the majority of my usage will be email, internet, homework for school once in a while. you might ask why do i need a ATI card than for graphics, because i have built in graphics on my desktop and i have 256mb total ram and it really sucks, especialy with some games. i do want to on occasion play Counter Strike that is why i want good graphics. although i know that game is not graphic intensive, my entire CS carreer i spent on a 866mhz P3 with 256mb ram. I guess a 400 FSB archetecture is the minimal for that usage. As for built in wifi...i dont mind using a PCMA card but...if that system does happen to have the g wifi, sure, i'll take that!

how much lugging around am i planning: mostly around the house actualy. once in a while i will take it to school with me, maybe to the library. once a year i will pack it up for a road trip...and i think thats about as simple as that. i am not planning to have to carry it every single possible day imaginable.

i guess i can always grab a Sotec/Averatech, they fit the bill for cheap and a Athlon XP-M 1600+ CPU (only 333fsb) and it has a cd-rw/dvd and on the cheap you can probobly score it for $600. they are super mobile, under 5lbs. problem? i heard warranty and serivce and quality issues. also, it has a built in 32mb shared graphics and only a 12 some incher for a screen. not something i'd like to stare at for hours on end.

i took a lot at Averatec. I found this system:

12.4" screen
512 mb ram
32mb shared vid ram
cd-rw/dvd player
2.5 hour battery life
4.5 lbs
Athlon XP-M 2000+
on newegg.com it is selling for $849 i think....
30gb hd (or maybe it was a 40)
so it perfectly fits my bill besides the screen being a 12incher, but thats ok, at home i can always hook it up to my 17" Dell monitor.

i mean with 512mb of system ram, i know sharing video still sucks, but isnt as notciable as with 256mb, right? also, i've read some of the reviews on CNET. bottom line. good system if you can be your own tech support, i've been my tech support for years now. The only common hardware problem is a fan making an odd noise and the DVD player making a beep (something to do with the cache) when its been playing a movie for a long time. But if that happens in the first 30 days i can always take it back, right? At best buy some people reported getting it for as low as just over $700. Is this a good deal or should i just keep looking?

chances are i am going to dump XP and replace it Win2K Pro for faster performance. I guess I will be using the 12" only in school and on the road, at home, connected to a 17inch monitor my eyes shouldn't strain. and like i said some people reported for getting it just over $700...that happens but rearly, its better "market avarage" price is $899. once again my question goes out to the folks, can i trust this company?

ps, here is a link to the specs if you wanna see.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...149-008&depa=0